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60,000 litres
of Scotch blended whisky leaks from a
storage vat at the Loch Lomond Groups
Glen Catrine storage and bottling
facility.
The Loch Lomond Group has revealed that
back in June 2016 over £1 million worth
of Scotch blended whisky leaked from a
storage vat at the groups Glen Catrine
bonded warehouse storage facility and
bottling plant near Mauchline in East
Ayrshire.
The accidental spill occurred over the
weekend of 18th & 19th June when 60,000
litres of Scotch blended whisky with an
estimated final retail value of £1
million leaked from a storage vat, much
of it seeped into the ground but some of
it found its way into the drainage
system and then into the nearby River
Ayr.
The leak was immediately reported to the
authorities at the time and the the Loch
Lomond Group have been working closely with
them to ensure no recurrence.
Confirming the incident, a Scottish
Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)
spokesperson said: "An investigation was
carried out at the Loch Lomond Group
bonded warehouse in Catrine, following a
discharge of whisky from the facility.
"It’s understood that due to a leak
inside the building, a significant
quantity of whisky managed to escape
through the floor of the warehouse.
"It’s likely the majority of the whisky
was absorbed by the ground beneath the
warehouse but a small amount did manage
to enter the drainage system and
discharge directly into the River Ayr.
"Following numerous assessments of the
watercourse by SEPA officers, the
discharge was not found to have had any
significant impact on the surface water
environment."
Glen Catrine bonded warehouse storage
facility and bottling plant is one of
the biggest and most efficient in
Scotland, and currently produces more
than 65 million bottles of whisky and
other spirits each year such as High
Commissioner Scotch blended whisky and
the UK's N0.2 best selling spirit brand Glens Vodka.
This latest leak follows an incident in
2011 when a mistake by a delivery tanker
caused 6,600 litres of Scotch to be
discharged into the River Ayr. Following
an enquiry the Loch Lomond Group was
fined £12,000 for this leak so no doubt
they will be looking at another hefty
fine and I would imagine they will be
asked why the production process at Glen
Catrine has failed so badly once again,
potentially harming the environment.
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